Liberia: Support the Weaving Industry - Local Weaver Urges Govt

A local weaver has urged the Government of Liberia (GoL) to shift little attention to the weaving industry. Mr. Varney Kanneh observed that a well-coordinated and Government supported Weaving Industry would minimize the importation of cotton cloths and at the same enhances revenue generation in the country.

In an exclusive interview yesterday with this paper at his workshop in Sinkor, Monrovia, Mr. Kanneh, who has over 20 yearsof experience in weaving country cloth, averred that government slow interest in promoting the industry was killing the dreams and aspirations of several of his colleagues who had thought that joining the industry would help improve their lives, while at the same time promoting Liberia's culture and arts. According to him, their industry was a unique one that portrays African value in terms of heritage, adding that he acquired his weaving skills 20 years through his elder brother who also received the knowledge from their late father.

Commenting on capacity building in the industry, the experienced Liberian weaver disclosed that he had trained over 40 persons, most of whom, he said, are instructors on their own today.

Mr. Kanneh, who is also an experienced class room teacher and a prospective graduate from the University of Liberia(UL), stated that, aside from providing training for others, he has used weaving to carter for his family and educate himself.

Meanwhile, the veteran weaver is calling on his colleagues in the weaving industry to put more effort to the profession, urging that there is no vain labor and that effort is the prize for success in any undertaken.

It seems that weaving is becoming a serious business in Liberia, and that those involved in the profession are determined to attract national government attention. On January 15, 2014, two Liberian women in the weaving work also called on the government and its partners to help buttress the effort of weavers in the country, especially women.

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